Author
CLAIM:
The way a person draws the number “8” reflects their decision-making style and personality. According to the viral reel, each of the four common ways of writing the digit reveals specific traits, such as whether a person is cautious, decisive, controlling, or intuitive when solving problems and making decisions.
FACT:
False. There is no scientific evidence that the way a person draws the number “8” can reveal their personality or decision-making style. Studies evaluating graphology (handwriting analysis) have consistently found it to be unreliable for predicting personality traits, and psychologists assess personality using validated psychological tests rather than handwriting patterns. Experts say such claims are not evidence-based and should be viewed as entertainment rather than a scientific assessment.
In a viral Instagram reel posted by Jenisha Shah, who has 1.45 lakh followers on the platform, a claim suggesting that the way people draw the number “8” can reveal how they make decisions in life has been gaining widespread attention online.
In the reel, Shah asks viewers to recall how they usually write the number 8 and says, “The way you draw the number 8 reveals how you make decisions in life and I heard a psychologist say this so let’s see if it’s true.” She then asks people to think about how they typically draw the digit, explaining, “So first take a second and think about how you typically draw an 8 in normal life and then it could be 1, 2, 3 or 4. Now I’m going to describe what each one is.”
Image in the reel.
Describing the first drawing style, she claims these individuals “barely ever get into problem solving head on.” Instead, they observe situations first, identify possible solutions, and only then take action. According to her, “Strength is attentiveness but sometimes you just wait too long to make the right decision at the right time.”
For the second style, Shah says such people quickly understand the details and “go into the problem and then figure out the solution as you go through it.” She adds, “You don’t like wasting time at all and you’re so decisive that sometimes you just overvalue speed of decision making and stop thinking about the impact or consequences.”
Explaining the third pattern, she claims these individuals prefer keeping everything under control. “Even when you may look calm on the outside, inside 10,000 calculations are still going on,” she says, adding that while this helps them avoid “silly situations,” “it’s harder for you to relax or calm down just because your mind is running.”
Finally, describing the fourth style, Shah says these people rely more on intuition. “You actually go by vibes and what feels right in the moment. If something feels different or changes, you’re very open to changing your mind as well.” She adds, “In fact, you’re so flexible sometimes it’s hard for people to understand where your mind is at.”
She concludes the reel by asking viewers, “Did it match your decision making or was it just fake?”
The reel has gained massive traction on Instagram, garnering over 6.2 million views, 1.27 lakh likes, and 1.46 lakh shares.
What research says?
Scientific evidence does not support the claim that the way a person draws the number “8” can reveal how they make decisions or accurately predict their personality.
An earlier study evaluated a popular graphoanalysis method that claimed specific handwriting features correspond to personality traits. Researchers analysed handwriting samples from 49 college students for 30 handwriting elements and compared them with scores from the Jackson Personality Inventory–Revised (JPI-R), a validated personality assessment. Although the handwriting ratings showed moderate agreement between coders, the predicted relationships between handwriting features and personality traits were no better than chance. The researchers concluded that the findings “suggest limited value in handwriting analysis as a predictive tool.”
Similar findings were reported in a 2009 study, which examined whether graphologists could accurately identify personality traits from handwriting. In the first study, researchers compared graphologists’ assessments of 101 university students with their scores on the Big Five Questionnaire, while a second study involved 102 participants using autobiographical handwriting samples. Across both studies, the graphologists’ evaluations failed to match participants’ validated personality profiles. The researchers concluded, “No evidence was found to validate the graphological method as a measure of personality.” They also reported very low agreement between graphologists, suggesting poor reliability of the method.
Research on decision-making also contradicts the idea that a simple handwriting habit can reveal how people make choices. A 2018 review noted that decades of research in judgment and decision-making show that human decisions are influenced by a wide range of cognitive, emotional, and social factors. The authors highlighted that “features of the social environment shape individual behaviour,” while decision-making itself involves multiple psychological processes rather than being determined by a single behavioural trait such as the way a person writes a number.
Do experts agree?
Ms Neha K, Specialist – Psychology, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, said there is no scientifically validated evidence to support the claim that the way a person draws the number “8” can reveal their personality or decision-making style.
While the viral reel suggests that four different ways of writing the digit correspond to traits such as being observant, decisive, controlling, or intuitive, Neha said these claims are not supported by established psychological research. “Personality is a complex combination of genetic, developmental, environmental, and social influences and cannot be inferred from a single handwriting habit,” she said.
Referring to graphology, the practice of interpreting personality through handwriting, she explained that although it has existed for decades, repeated scientific studies have found it to be unreliable for assessing personality or predicting behaviour. “Such content is best viewed as entertainment rather than a valid psychological assessment and should not be used to draw conclusions about an individual’s character or decision-making abilities,” she added.
Addressing the claim that a person’s decision-making style can be determined by the way they write the number “8”, Ms Neha said a single handwriting habit cannot reliably predict personality traits. According to her, handwriting is shaped by several practical factors, including how a person was taught to write in school, cultural conventions, writing speed, motor coordination, habit, and even the writing surface or pen being used. “These factors vary widely and have little connection to stable psychological traits,” she explained.
She also pointed out that people often relate to broad personality descriptions because of a well-known psychological phenomenon called the Barnum (or Forer) effect, which makes vague, general statements feel personally accurate. “Therefore, conclusions about personality based solely on writing the number ‘8’ are not evidence-based,” she said.
Explaining how psychologists actually assess personality and decision-making, Neha said professionals rely on validated, evidence-based methods rather than handwriting patterns. These include standardised personality inventories, structured clinical interviews, behavioural observations, cognitive assessments, and scientifically developed questionnaires such as the Big Five personality model or the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), depending on the purpose of the evaluation.
“These tools undergo rigorous testing to ensure they are reliable and valid across different populations,” she said, adding that handwriting analysis, including the way someone writes numbers, is not considered a scientifically accepted method for assessing personality or predicting behaviour in clinical or organisational settings.
While handwriting may sometimes reflect temporary factors such as fatigue, stress, age, or certain neurological conditions, Neha emphasised that it does not provide a reliable measure of enduring personality traits or decision-making preferences.
Do you have a health-related claim that you would like us to fact-check? Send it to us, and we will fact-check it for you! You can send it on WhatsApp at +91-9311223141, mail us at hello@firstcheck.in, or click here to submit it online.
